If you're starting IVF over 40, this is often the question that sits underneath all the others: should you try with your own eggs, or would donor eggs give you a better chance? It's not a question we can answer for you in a blog post, because it depends entirely on your own results. But we can walk you through how we actually help patients work through it, so you know what to expect when you get to that conversation.
Quick jump:
Why age changes the maths
Egg quality declines with age, and it's the single biggest factor behind lower IVF success rates after 40. HFEA data shows the average birth rate per embryo transferred was 30% across all ages in 2024, but 38% for patients aged 18 to 34, against 8% for patients aged 43 to 44. That's a meaningful gap, and it's driven mainly by chromosomal changes in eggs as you get older, which affect whether an embryo implants and develops rather than whether fertilisation happens in the first place.
Donor egg cycles use eggs from a younger donor, so they typically carry a considerably better chance of success than a cycle using your own eggs at 40 or above, since the embryo's chromosomal profile reflects the donor's age rather than yours. Your specialist can talk you through what that looks like for your specific circumstances, since the exact gap depends on your own test results.
What we actually test before this conversation happens
Before your consultation, you'll have fertility tests booked in by our patient enquiry team, including an Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) test, which gives us a sense of your remaining egg supply, alongside an antral follicle count on ultrasound. Neither test tells us directly how many of your eggs are chromosomally normal, since that's something we can only assess once eggs are collected and fertilised using sperm to make embryos, and if you choose, tested through preimplantation genetic testing. But together, they give your doctor a realistic starting picture to discuss with you at your consultation, rather than a guess.
The conversation itself
At your consultation, your doctor will talk through what your results suggest is realistic with your own eggs, what a donor egg cycle would likely offer instead, and where the honest trade-offs sit for you specifically. This isn't a sales conversation, and we won't steer you towards donor eggs simply because the statistics favour it in general. Plenty of patients with test results that look challenging on paper still choose to try with their own eggs first, often because that biological connection matters enough to them that they'd rather try and see, and that's a completely reasonable choice to make.
Equally, some patients decide straight away that donor eggs are the right starting point, rather than going through a cycle with low odds first. Neither decision is more sensible than the other in the abstract. What matters is that you're deciding with a clear picture of your own numbers, not a generic statistic that may not describe you and your circumstances.
If you choose to try with your own eggs first
If that's your decision, we'll talk you through what might improve your chances within that choice, including whether Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A) makes sense for you. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) currently rates PGT-A as reducing miscarriage risk for most patients, though the evidence for improving overall pregnancy rates is stronger for some age groups than others. Your specialist will explain honestly where the evidence stands for your situation rather than presenting it as a guaranteed improvement.
If you choose donor eggs
Choosing donor eggs doesn't mean stepping outside our usual process. You'll still go through the same enquiry call, consultation, and receive a consultation summary via the treatment companion app, just like any other patient, with the addition of selecting a donor from our egg bank, using profiles that include health history and some personal background. Screening blood tests and consent forms, including that relating to donor conception, are completed through EngagedMD ahead of your treatment planning meeting, where medication is discussed before being supplied through Stork.
What it costs to choose either route
Donor egg cycles typically cost more than a cycle using your own eggs, since they include the process of sourcing and matching a donor as well as the treatment itself. That's not a reason to rule it out, but it is a reason to want real figures rather than working from a general sense of what things cost. Once your consultation has settled on a recommended route, or routes, your consultation summary will set out the specific costs involved, so you can consider this alongside everything else, with actual numbers in front of you.
You don't have to decide this alone
This is a big decision to sit with, and it's normal to feel pulled in different directions, particularly if using your own eggs matters to you for reasons that go beyond statistics. Fertility counselling is available as part of your care, specifically to help with decisions like this one, not only for support after a difficult result. If it would help to talk to others who've faced the same choice, we can also point you towards peer networks such as the Donor Conception Network and our very own Care Fertility Community group.
Whichever way this decision goes for you, our patient enquiry team can get your tests booked so you're working from real numbers rather than guesswork, and our specialists will give you their honest view once those results are in.
